The day I did the most exercise I have done in a very long while and was stranded out in the cold winter rain.
The sky was on the brink of rain when we arrived at our Fox Glacier tour hike but we were given the go ahead to hike it anyway. The initial 30 minutes of the walk began before the glacier started. Our guide was amazing and enthused about the glacier like it was their heart and soul. The glacier has receded rapidly in recent times and use to reach many kilometres before where it currently begins which I thought was really fascinating evidence of global warming.
At the steep parts of our hike I was DYING. I realised the true extent of my unfitness on this day. When we approached the ice we had to attach clamp ons onto our chunky hike boots. Thankfully, this section of the walk was a lot more relaxed and the view was simply stunning looking back towards the base of the glacier.
It began to rain at one point and we were all shivering but we were treated to this most amazing light show where the valley winds towards the right. I will probably never see light reflected against the rain in that way ever again and it was a shame I didn't think to take a photo of it. I regret to this day.
After our hike we were ready to find a motel and unwind but to my dismay we found that our car's batteries were dead. Dead flat, couldn't even attempt to start the engine. Did I mention that it was raining and cold? Turns out, in our mad rush to make it on time to the hike we forgot to turn off our headlights and they were left on for a good 5 hours or so.
We scrambled. Danny ran towards the small shops across the road to ask for a jump start and I ran inside the local pub to seek help. There was no sunlight left at that point. A kind family in a campervan offered to drive us across to the motel we were considering staying at to see if the owners could help us. Alas, they didn't have any leads. We were basically out of options so we sat sadly in our car and then our SAVIOUR arrived. He saw we looked pretty depressed and asked if he could help and miraculously he had leads! We were soon on our way thanks to a random kind stranger.
By the time we got to our motel my fingers were frozen I could barely sign off on our booking because I was so cold. A hot steaming shower never felt soooooo good.
Even though it was terrible at the time, this is what makes travel so fun. The random mishaps and speed bumps along the way makes things memorable.
We scrambled. Danny ran towards the small shops across the road to ask for a jump start and I ran inside the local pub to seek help. There was no sunlight left at that point. A kind family in a campervan offered to drive us across to the motel we were considering staying at to see if the owners could help us. Alas, they didn't have any leads. We were basically out of options so we sat sadly in our car and then our SAVIOUR arrived. He saw we looked pretty depressed and asked if he could help and miraculously he had leads! We were soon on our way thanks to a random kind stranger.
By the time we got to our motel my fingers were frozen I could barely sign off on our booking because I was so cold. A hot steaming shower never felt soooooo good.
Even though it was terrible at the time, this is what makes travel so fun. The random mishaps and speed bumps along the way makes things memorable.
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